Sweetwater reviews

They make it sound like you’ll be rich, but they won’t tell you they just changed the commission structure, and there’s no way of knowing if new people will make as much as the sales engineers that came before. Some managers know that people of color and women make substantially less commission than white men, but other managers will just tell you that these employees “aren’t our best” when this is pointed out. With 6 women and 7 black men among over 550 white male sales engineers, these people can’t really defend themselves. Anyway, regardless of demographics, the moment you get out of training, they’ll cut your pay. I’ve heard a manager say it’s because they want us to be hungry, to work harder for that commission. I’ve heard of people breaking the low base pay in their second paycheck, but I’ve actually spoken to people who didn’t break that base in their first year. Once there’s nothing left in your account, you’ll “live on the badge” and buy all your food at work before the money hits your paycheck. Then, when the smaller paycheck comes, you don’t know if you’ll make rent. But at least you can buy your morning coffee with your badge. It’s like a mining town. We buy our meals here, we get our hair cut here. We’re all musicians, so we buy gear here. I’m lucky I didn’t get a sweetwater credit card and get into debt like many of my coworkers. I had substantial savings when I started working at Sweetwater, but all that is gone now. The experience has not been worth the costs.

First, the company's COVID response was great...at first. The department I got to work in was able to work from home (as well as many of the other departments in the business). We were setup quite easily to work remotely and our team showed that we were able to produce content and finish work just as well as we did from the office. But after a few months, management decided for some reason they wanted everyone back in the office (in the middle of a pandemic). Reluctantly, I went back and had to wear a mask all day at my desk just to write code...which I can do from anywhere. To put it bluntly, it sucked. It drove me to look for employment elsewhere and I was easily able to find a better paying job that allowed me to work 100% remotely (that is the future of software development). Now that I've left I've heard that there was an outbreak in my department and 2 people have tested positive for COVID with another 8 put in quarantine. It's just plain idiotic that management would allow something like this to go on. It's needless and absolutely reckless. Now I'm sure the CPO will respond to this saying that Sweetwater has followed guidelines, but that is NOT what I saw on a day to day basis. I was always within arms length of my desk mates and saw many people neglecting masks. There was no enforcement of any guideline. I didn't feel safe anymore and had to leave. That should be eye opening (along with various outbreaks) but apparently not. The management should be ashamed of themselves. Chuck Surack always says that we want to follow the scout's motto of doing good. Well is needlessly putting your employees in harm's way "doing good"? Honestly, I wish that was the only reason I left. I also left because there is just no path forward to advance my career at Sweetwater. You're either a developer or a manager. The concept of a senior developer or tech lead is completely foreign to them. There was no yearly salary increase (not without constant badgering). You seem to be expected to work just for the joy of getting to work at Sweetwater. Sorry but I've got bills and a family. Just wish the management showed they cared instead of saying it over and over. Finally, payment was kinda "meh". It meets the state average for the position but with no advancement...you're kinda stuck.